Lost Time
by Aithne
Summary: The Dark Lord has a new plan. It is a plan that will ensure his victory and the destruction of Harry Potter. If he can't kill Potter in the present, why can't he go back to the past and kill the two people who created him?
1. Insomnia

**Disclaimer: **The only thing that is mine is the plot. But I think you knew that already.

**A/N: **Yes, I know, I know. I'm still working on PotC:TWoC but this plot popped in my head while I was reading PoA today. I hope you enjoy, and I would really appreciate it if you would review. Thanks.

_Lost time is never found again._

_~ Benjamin Franklin_

________

**Lost Time**__

_Insomnia_

________

He couldn't sleep and it was driving him mad.

He was always the first one snoozing in the dormitory, always the one who snored the loudest and kept everyone else awake. He was never tired, which probably attributed to his energetic and somewhat troublesome personality. Insomnia had never plagued him as it was now, keeping him awake until the first lights of the morning appeared in the window, leaving him to watch as the stars slowly faded into nothingness.

He had _always _slept well. That is, until the past couple of nights.

It wasn't as if he was having nightmares, it was the fact that he just wasn't tired at _all_. Luckily, tonight he had fallen asleep quite early, but had awoke for no apparent reason only a couple of hours later. It was strange: he would have a completely full day of mischief and roguery (as well as some studying and classes on the side), but fatigue did not hit him as it usually did. He sighed again and rolled onto his left side, adjusting the puffy pillow beneath his head once more. 

"James," he whispered to the bed directly next to his own. "James, wake up."

The only sound that answered him was the chirping of the crickets.

"James, seriously. Get up."

No answer.

"James!"

Silence.

Aggravated, he stood up out of bed, pushing the comforter aside. The air in the dormitory was brusque considering the chilling December temperatures. He shivered and crept over to James's bed and whispered again as to not wake any of the others up, "James! Get up  you lazy prat." When no answer greeted him, he threw back the comforter and the sheets to find two pillows, one below the other, forming what had appeared to be James's body.

This caused him to frown. James _never _crept out at night unless they were together. It was an unwritten rule that had went unchallenged ever since their first year; for six full years they had traipsed the entire castle together, memorizing the secret passageways and intriguing rooms of Hogwarts. So the fact that James had left him to go sight-seeing alone was unnerving, to say the least.

Sweeping his hand through his thick black hair, he stood staring blankly at the bed as if James were to reappear there. Unfortunately, nothing of the sort happened. Shaking his head, he decided to check the common room, just in case James had gone down there for a bit of late night homework. Of course, as soon as he thought of James doing homework he rolled his eyes at himself. James _never _did his homework when he could get away with it; it was ludicrous if not somewhat idiotic to think that he would be catching up on his Potions homework at three in the morning.

Nevertheless, he crept down the spiral stairs to the common room. A small fire still cackled in the grate, sending an eerie reflection of shadows across the common room floor. All of the chairs were empty and no sounds save the cracking of the fire were to be heard.

Sighing, he turned to go back up to bed, when the portrait swung open.

Alarmed, he whirled towards the entrance to see no one enter. The portrait carefully swung back to its place.

"James, where have you been?" he hissed.

James Potter appeared moments later from underneath his invisibility cloak. He was about to yell at his best friend for not telling him he was sneaking out when he caught hold of his face.

He looked completely terrified. His usually untidy black hair looked even more windswept. His glasses were skewed over his blue eyes and his face was pale underneath a thin layer of sweat. He was panting as he flung his Invisibility cloak over the nearest chair and wiped his forehead with his sleeve.

"What's wrong?" 

James looked at his friend, his hands nervously tugging at his sleeves. "Sirius…"

"What?" Sirius was quite alarmed at his friend's appearance. He seemed antsy, if not panicked.

"Sirius…this is going to sound completely mad," James confessed, walking over to a chair and sitting down in it, rubbing his eyes and setting his glasses straight. His eyes darted from the far windows to Sirius's face, back to the fire and eventually down at the floor. One of his legs was bouncing up and down as the other one lay limply at the side. James was still panting and sweaty, and he couldn't seem able to sit still.

"Will you just tell me already!" Sirius complained after a few moments, pulling up a chair to sit face-to-face with James.

He sighed and looked up. "Er…someone tried to kill me tonight."

Sirius couldn't help but smile. "You're right…you _do_ sound completely mad."

"I'm not joking," he interjected. Sirius's smile still did not disappear from his handsome face, even though he took notice of the seriousness in James's tone.

"Come on, James. Who would kill _you_? Ok, granted that Snivellus would love to wrap his greasy hands around your neck…ok, and maybe the Slytherin Seeker Rachel Dolan wouldn't mind hexing you…and ever since you – er – _accidentally_ tried to kiss Lily Evans she's been out to bid your time, but really…"

"Really, Sirius. I'm not joking."

"Fine, then. What happened?" he asked, sitting back in his chair.

James sighed as if asked to relay an entire historical account of the Goblin Rebellion. He folded his arms across his chest and blinked behind his glasses as if to re-focus his eyesight. He cleared his throat twice, fumbled with his cloak, and pulled his sleeves up past his elbows. He was taking such a long time to get ready that Sirius was about to comment when James finally spoke. "I couldn't sleep tonight…I guess I'm just nervous about the Quidditch match tomorrow. I was in bed thinking about the Wronski Feint when I heard voices outside of our window. They weren't loud, but it didn't seem as though they were trying to keep their voices down either. They belonged to two men, as far as I could tell, and they seemed to be arguing. Naturally, I got up to look out the window, and I caught them just as they headed into Hogwarts. I noticed that they were wearing long black cloaks."

"So you followed them, I reckon?" Sirius asked, stifling a yawn. Of all times, _now _he was getting sleepy…

"Of course I did. I knew they probably weren't teachers, due to the fact that it was two o'clock in the morning, and everyone – save Professor Dumbledore – is usually in bed by eleven. I grabbed the cloak and - "

"You didn't wake me!" interrupted Sirius, slightly offended. "Why not?"

James looked at him and shook his head, adjusting his glasses once more. "I…I don't know, to be honest. You were snoring-"

"I _always_ snore," he mumbled.

" – and I figured, since you hadn't been sleeping well-"

" – so what? You never cared about my sleeping habits before."

"Will you let me finish?" snapped James, narrowing his eyes impatiently. Sirius could tell he was apprehensive and short-tempered; James got this way when he was either embarrassed or scared. "Anyways, back to the story before you start to pick a fight with me again. So I grabbed the cloak and walked down to the Great Hall. I figured that if they were going to come into Hogwarts, they would use the main entrance. I was right. As soon as I got to the doors outside of the Hall, I heard voices. Of course, I crept behind the statue of Snarfy the Sly as they got closer. I wasn't quite interested in what they were saying, I just wanted to see who they were…we haven't been able to go out into Hogwarts lately with Christmas coming up and Filch and his cat running rampant all over the school, so I figured this would be a perfect time to get out and stretch my legs you know?"

"Yeah, a perfect time to stick your nose in other people's business," added Sirius, grinning.

James glared at Sirius for a moment and continued as if he hadn't heard his comment. "Well, they were about to round the corner when they stopped dead, and I heard one of them whisper, 'He's here.'"

Sirius studied James and commented, "This better not be a joke, Prongs."

"Its not, so shut up and listen. I couldn't figure out who 'he' was until I heard the other one answer, 'He's behind the statue.' I was so shocked to hear what they were saying that I didn't move…which was a big mistake. The next thing I knew, the statue was blown apart, and I ducked for cover. Without the statue, I was visible. I scrambled up and ran for it…I don't think I've ever run so fast in my life.  They followed me, trying to jinx me. At first I thought it was a joke until the Impediment Curse missed me by an inch or two. I needed to lose them…they were gaining on me fast, and they didn't seem like they were going to let up. So I took them down the hall past the Potions class room, of course, and I was going to try to trick them by using-"

" – the Potions room closet," finished Sirius, nodding. "Smart move…its what I would've done."

"Right. So anyways, I led them in there. Of course, they didn't know that there was a trapdoor on the left side of the closet, leading to our common room. I ran inside of it and closed the door behind me…but as I didn't have my wand, there was no light. I couldn't find the door until they had reached the closet and dashed inside with me. The closet's not that big…I felt one of them grab me by my shirt. I guess I kicked him in the knee, because he fell and let go. I suddenly realized that the whole time I had my Invisibility cloak on…I don't know how they saw me…"

"They saw through your cloak?" Sirius repeated stupidly, frowning. "That's impossible…"

"Well obviously it isn't, is it?" snapped James so violently that Sirius was about to counter him. He had seen James in these moods before…he had been in one when Lily Evans told him for the sixth time that she wouldn't go out with him. He had been humiliated then…but Sirius knew that James was completely frightened now, due to the fact that James was shifting nervous glances over his shoulders ever few minutes. Then, he continued.

"So they were stuck there, and for a moment, all three of us were together in that cramped area. And then, right before I snuck out…"

"What?" Sirius asked again as James stopped, suddenly looking at the floor. "For bloody sake, just tell me, would you?"

James averted his eyes to the floor and lowered his voice to barely above a whisper."They…they used the killing curse on me. Or, at least, they tried to."

Sirius sat there in utter disbelief, his mouth hanging slackly and his eyes wide with shock. If James was jesting with him, it wasn't funny. But from the murky look in his eyes and the tenseness of his posture, Sirius knew this was no joke. 

"And I thought you had gone out to try to sneak into Lily's dormitory," Sirius commented slyly as James looked over his shoulder again.

His quip seemed to ease the tension of the air slightly, although the apprehension in the air could have been sliced with a butter knife. He saw James blush then quickly recover by answering stupidly, "Shut up, Padfoot. This is serious."

"I know, I know, keep your untidy hair on," he retorted, stretching. "But I do reckon that you should go to McGonagall for this…or maybe even Dumbledore."

"Are you joking?" James asked incredulously. "They'll think I've been eating too many Pumpkin Pasties. Besides, no harm done, right?" Sirius noticed he was trying to smile but was consequently failing miserably at it. He still looked extremely shaky and pale.

Sirius had the urge to slap James upside the head and remind him that someone had just tried to kill him, and that Dumbledore should probably know about random people invading Hogwarts trying to kill its students. Unfortunately, Sirius had never been the type to do so. He knew James was as adamant as he was stubborn; Sirius could have yelled at him for three hours straight and all James would've done was complain about the volume of his voice. He knew Prongs well enough to know that giving him advice was like persuading McGonagall to never give homework. It was hopeless, it was time consuming, and it was pointless. All Sirius could do was hope it wouldn't happen again…and he would make sure to keep an extra eye on James too.

"I think you need a rest," Sirius observed. "You need your sleep. This Thursday is a full moon," he added importantly.

"Oh, right," nodded James distractedly, standing up. His eyes still looked shadowy and he kept looking behind his shoulder as well as steely glances towards the window towards the back. "Well, at least Moony will be alright for Christmas this Saturday."

Sirius stood up too and stifled another yawn. He studied James for a second; Prongs was now fiddling with his Invisibility cloak he picked up from the chair next to him. It seemed as though James could not sit still…he was undoubtedly nervous. "Time for bed," Sirius mumbled, noticing that the fire had completely burned out in the grate.

"Yeah, time for bed." The reply was blank, emotionless.

As they quietly walked across the common room up to their beds, a nervousness arose in Sirius that could not be explained. He stole a sideways glance at his friend who still looked extremely sallow. He was about to recommend going to Dumbledore again when his logic took over and told him it was a waste of time. So instead he asked, "You sure you weren't trying to sneak into Lily's room?"

To his surprise and relief, James grinned and replied, somewhat convincingly, "There's always tomorrow night for that."

~*~

I really hope you liked. Reviews are necessary for continuation, and I'd love to hear what you think!****


	2. Quidditch, Girls, and Chaos

**Disclaimer: **I own only the plot. So don't get excited.

**A/N: **Sorry for the wait! I've been working on my PotC story so much, that I've completely neglected this one. I apologize! Now, here's chapter two.

_Lost time is never found again._

_~Benjamin Franklin_

_______

Lost Time _Quidditch, Girls, and Chaos_

_________

"And there he goes! Potter takes a sudden dive, swooping low to the ground…he's outstretching his hand…he obviously sees the snitch…oh no, look out! He's going to crash, he's going to get hurt, he's – he's got it! He's got the Snitch! GRYFFINDOR WINS!"

An eruption of noise like that of an active volcano rose up from the Gryffindor side of the Quidditch Pitch. Scarlet flags with lions painted on them flapped merrily in the wind. The thrilled yells of the Gryffindors far outweighed the disappointing groans of Hufflepuff and especially Slytherin, who always enjoyed watching Gryffindor lose to anyone.

James held up the struggling Snitch in his hand and beamed haughtily. Taking a victory lap around the Pitch he spotted Remus and Peter clapping madly while Sirius let out a whoop of joy, punching his fist into the air. His eyes traveled along the mostly-smiling crowd to rest upon a beautiful burgundy-haired girl whose face was looking up towards him as she clapped, a trace of a small smile delicate upon her lips.

_"She's clapping for me…Lily Evans is clapping for me…"_ James thought as his heart gave a great leap, grinning even more broadly. As he finished his lap he landed upon the ground. No sooner had he dismounted his broom than the entire Gryffindor team piled on top of him. Amongst slaps on the back and congratulatory handshakes, James was lifted up on the shoulders of the Gryffindor Quidditch Captain, Justin Basil, and carried towards the locker rooms, the sounds of celebrating Gryffindors following him all the way.

"Nice one, James," smiled Anne Warrington, a Chaser, as they entered the locker rooms. "That was brilliant…you pulled up just in time."

"Any farther and we'd be scraping you off the field," grinned Arthur Weasley, a Beater. 

James shrugged. "Yeah, well…Hufflepuff was a given."

Justin Basil shrugged. "You don't know that. More surprising upsets have happened, mind."

James nodded silently and quickly undressed out of his Quidditch robes. "Well, I'm off," he announced, running a hand through his messy hair.

"Where you off to so fast, reckon?" asked Arthur, his eyes shining. "It isn't to meet Lily Evans, is it?"

James turned red around the ears. News traveled fast at Hogwarts, to be sure. "NO…as a matter of fact, I'm off to meet Sirius, Peter, and Remus."

"Suuuuuure," smirked Megan Connelly from the other side of the changing curtain. "Yeah, I bet you are…just like Arthur sneaks out at night to look at the scenery on the grounds."

James grinned as he looked to Arthur, who turned redder than he did. "I'm not SNEAKING out anywhere, thank you very much," he muttered, pulling on his school robes. "If you're referring to that one instance where I met Molly – "

"You MET her, did you?" joked Justin, punching Arthur playfully in the arm. "Is that what they called it nowadays?"

"Last time I checked, it was called snogging," James piped in, winking at Justin who laughed. 

"Oh come off it," growled Arthur, his ears still red. "You should be one to talk, James... 'accidentally' trying to kiss Lily, my arse."

Everyone laughed, and even James chuckled. "Alright, I've had enough of you blighters…I'll see you at dinner." And after an exchange of 'good-byes' and 'see you laters', James walked out of the changing rooms and into the bright, crisp sunlight of the beautiful December day. His breath dissolved in puffs due to the chilly air, and he shivered slightly as he headed up towards Hogwarts.

"Oi! James!" He turned around to see his three best friends hurrying up behind him. James offered them a lopsided smile. 

"James…that was brilliant," breathed Peter, his eyes wide. "I've never seen anything like that!"

"Yes, I agree. Congrats, Prongs," smiled Remus, clasping him on the back. "Now it's Gryffindor versus Slytherin for the Quidditch Cup, yeah?"

As James nodded he saw Sirius snicker from the corner of his eyes. He turned to him inquisitively and Padfoot replied, "It was enough to impress Evans, all right."

"WILL YOU STOP THAT?" James growled, rolling his eyes. "The whole SCHOOL is aware of me fancying Evans…I don't need YOU reminding everyone, either."

"I thought the fact that you ask her out every time you see her in the hallways was a sure indication," Sirius smiled back.

"If only she'd say yes," he muttered, squinting against the cold breeze. "Alright, let's move…it's freezing out here." 

The four of them traipsed into Hogwarts and made their way towards the Gryffindor common room. James ran another hand through his hair as he heard Remus argue with Peter about the ingredients in Vitaserum. Sirius walked at his side, shooting handsomely sly smiles at girls who were passing by. All of them giggled insanely, and one of them even waved, her face slightly flustered. "I'll never understand them," James commented as the group of girls ambled on. "They laugh at EVERYTHING."

"No, I've known a lot to cry about everything," Sirius countered. "Violent mood swings…I wonder how anyone gets married and stays that way."

James shrugged. "If you love each other, then it shouldn't be hard."

Sirius fell silent, as did Remus and Peter. James frowned and turned to look all of them. "What?" he exclaimed.

"We've never heard you talk like that," Moony admitted, raising his eyebrows. 

"What, is Lily getting to your head?"

"Lily isn't-" But James didn't finish. Another group of girls, mostly Gryffindors, were approaching. They were all talking excitedly, and Lily was in the center of them all. 

"Hi guys," waved a cheery, rather plump girl by the name of Alice Reed who was dating another Gryffindor, Frank Longbottom. James nodded at Alice but his eyes remained intently on Lily, who seemed unconvincingly distracted by the hem of her robe. 

"Hi, Sirius," commented Ashley Moore, a rather pretty blonde girl. It was widely known she had been fancying Sirius for ages…along with most of the other girls in the school.

"How goes it, Ashley?" Sirius asked back, apparently unperturbed by the giggles that ensued after his seemingly unfunny question.

"Hey, Evans," piped up James…if he was going to ask her, it had to be now. "Er…can we, ah, talk…in private, I mean?" Excited whispers and even more girly giggles followed his question, but he kept his eyes directly on Lily. She stopped playing around with her dress robes, and looked at him intently. "James, I'm off to study for Potions. I'm really busy-"

"This'll only be a minute," he interrupted. "C'mon, Evans…please?" 

Lily looked to Alice who shrugged and smiled, giving her a shove forward. Lily frowned slightly, but then heaved a heavy sigh. "Oh, all right. But I haven't got all day," she grumbled, flipping her long red hair behind her shoulders. James smiled. He always loved when she did that. He led her up the main stairs, pausing as soon as they reached the landing. He could hear giggles and whispers from the others at the base of the staircase, but tried to pay them no mind. He had to focus, he had to relax…

"Are you going to talk, or are we going to stand here all day while you smile at me?" Lily asked. James looked into her eyes and nearly fell over with excitement – there was a twinkle in her eye that he had never seen before.

"Er…well, see the thing is…there's…ah, well, um…"

"So…the great James Potter is speechless?"

James rubbed the back of his neck. WHY was he so nervous? "Well, you see…the Christmas Ball…I was wondering…um, if you don't have a date that is…I was just curious if you would, um, like to…to go with me." As he finished, James winced, almost in pain, waiting for Lily's reaction. When the expected yelling did not come, he lifted his eyes from the floor to look at Lily. He peered at her, puzzled by the strange look on her face. It wasn't a look that suggested she thought of him as a "toerag", nor was she smirking as if someone had told a really naughty joke. Instead, she was grinning.

"Sure, James. I'll go with you."

It was only after Lily smiled genuinely at him and trotted back down the stairs to join her squealing girlfriends that Sirius informed him his mouth had been hanging open for the past few minutes. "So she just said YES?" Sirius asked incredulously, slapping his forehead. "I thought she HATED you, Prongs."

"Me too," James muttered. "Apparently not."

"Girls," Padfoot replied, shaking his head. "They make no bloody sense…"

"Or maybe you're too thick to understand them?" Moony suggested, grinning.

"Oi! I don't see YOU with a date," growled Sirius.

"I do," boasted Remus, grinning devilishly.

"WHO?" Peter, James, and Sirius asked at once.

Moony shrugged. "Bellatrix Lestrange," he replied simply.

Sirius nearly tripped over himself as he stared viciously at Remus. It was only when Moony laughed that Sirius exploded. "That was NOT FUNNY!" he roared, sulking. "It's disgusting, mind you."

"I know, I know, keep your pants on," Remus laughed as they walked towards the common room. "Me going with Lestrange holds as much water as James going with Severus."

"But you do have a date?" Peter asked, somewhat sulkily.

"Yup."

"Are you going to bother to tell us who within the next century?" James asked impatiently.

"Sarah Burkowitz," Remus answered as they stepped through the portal into the common room.

"SARAH BURKOWITZ?" repeated Sirius, shocked. "But she's – she's –"

"…the prettiest girl in school, I know," Remus replied, plopping down in an armchair. "And most popular, to boot."

"The SECOND prettiest girl in school," James smirked. "I happen to be going to the Christmas Ball with the prettiest."

"She's a looker, no doubt," Sirius agreed, walking up towards the dormitories. "You're kids will be famous for their good looks, Quidditch abilities, and big heads," he shouted as he walked into their room. James was about to respond when he heard Sirius shout, "JAMES! GET UP HERE!"

"What?" Prongs asked, frowning.

"Just get up here."

The three trotted up the stairs and into the dormitory where James's eyes widened as he nearly gasped. 

Everything was thrown apart. The bed was slashed, the pillows were ripped, the furniture was toppled over. His books and homework lay scattered across the floor, his clothes hastily thrown about. He looked around the dorm and frowned. What could've they been looking for? James knelt down and began sorting through the debris. Everything seemed to be there except – 

"My wand."

"What?"

"They took my wand," James muttered, readjusting his glasses. "It's gone…they must've taken it when the school was at the Quidditch Pitch."

"Who would want your wand?" Peter asked shrilly, his eyes darting from place to place.

"Someone who would want him defenseless, I presume," Remus answered softly, kicking aside a stray piece of parchment on the floor.

James and Sirius sent each other dark looks. Did this have something to do with the events of the night before? Sighing, he stood up and rubbed his neck. "You need to tell Dumbledore about this, Prongs," said Remus, his eyebrows raised. "This can't go without being reported."

James nodded. He didn't want to admit it, but Moony had a point. "Alright, I'll ask to speak with him tonight. You guys head on over to dinner…I'll be there in a few. I've got to somehow organize this mess."

The others headed down the stairs to head off to the Great Hall, while James stayed behind, lazily cleaning up the chaotic disorder that surrounded him. As he folded up his last cloak and placed it in the drawer, he realized that not only his wand was missing.

So was his invisibility cloak.

~*~

Next chapter=action. Get excited. 

****

****


End file.
